Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) Announces Monthly Dividend of $0.13

Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM - Get Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Monday, April 8th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.1333 per share by the investment management company on Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This is a positive change from Stellus Capital Investment's previous monthly dividend of $0.13.

Stellus Capital Investment has raised its dividend payment by an average of 13.6% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Stellus Capital Investment has a payout ratio of 95.2% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings decline. Analysts expect Stellus Capital Investment to earn $1.69 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 94.7%.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Performance

Shares of Stellus Capital Investment stock traded up $0.13 on Monday, reaching $13.29. The stock had a trading volume of 73,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 111,620. The business's 50-day moving average price is $12.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. Stellus Capital Investment has a fifty-two week low of $12.19 and a fifty-two week high of $15.40. The stock has a market cap of $320.69 million, a P/E ratio of 17.04 and a beta of 1.17.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The investment management company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $28.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.20 million. Stellus Capital Investment had a return on equity of 14.01% and a net margin of 16.56%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 17,268 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 795 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 11,838 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 28,381 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,497 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 1,945 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC bought a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 13.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stellus Capital Investment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. B. Riley reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $12.50 target price (down from $13.00) on shares of Stellus Capital Investment in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Stellus Capital Investment in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th.

Stellus Capital Investment Company Profile

Stellus Capital Investment Corporation is a business development company specializing in investments in private middle-market companies. It invests through first lien, second lien, unitranche, and mezzanine debt financing, often with a corresponding equity investment. The fund prefers to invest in US and Canada.